Queen’s Gambit Declined
Moving people around isn’t always easy.
Gavin looked down at the pile of paperwork on his desk as he picked up the phone.
“Yeah. I saw the email; it got sent to the whole department. The councillor called about the petition. The sad thing is, this city has enough saints. We have four thousand homeless across the city. They need housing or jobs, not legal protection to stay on the streets.”
He sipped a bitter coffee as the voice continued on the other end of the phone.
“That reminds me, cancel the appointment with Mother Teresa and order me some more sugar.”
He’d seen them come and go in their thousands. One more in a sea of names washing ashore at his desk. Not one of their leaders had cared. Just another Messiah figure desperate for glory, eager to dump the followers on somebody else.
The tide crashed against the breakers as the words swam on the page. Several familiar names appeared alongside some he had not seen. Trawling social media to determine if any of them were legitimate seemed pointless. More would spring up at a moment’s notice. The woman of many names was a charismatic leader. He had to concede that.
Delaying meeting her was the best move; he needed time to understand her position. Every possible iteration needed a plan; block each goalpost shift or appeal to emotion before it begins.
Odd they criticised him for seeing people like pieces on a chessboard. After all, that was the strategy his opponents had always used.
No, she would use that. Not meeting her was admitting weakness. These things needed a firm touch.
“Hello, Christine? Yes. I understand, but I have matters that require discussion. I cannot hold off any longer. Thank you, Christine. Wait, what do you mean you don’t have her contact details?”
Kristen Haveman’s excellent ‘A Girl With Many Names’ entry to the Hero For Hire challenge serves as the antagonist here (which made me protagonist very difficult to write!):
https://medium.com/microcosm/a-girl-with-many-names-8c71ad172cb6c
Conflict Generator prompts:
Woman vs. Man
Rescue
Erroneous Judgement
Next section of the story:
